MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates sign up Socrates Brito, Miguel Del Pozo and Phillip Evans

Major League Baseball (MLB) team Pittsburgh Pirates announced Tuesday their new signings of three minor league players. Outfielder Socrates Brito, southpaw Miguel Del Pozo and infielder Phillip Evans have all received non-roster invitations from the Pirates along with Hector Noesi. The Pirates also snapped up free-agent Luke Maile. 

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MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates sign Socrates Brito, Phillip Evans and two others

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MLB: Redemption time for Socrates Brito?

Once viewed as a quality prospect, Socrates Brito hasn’t lived up to the hype in the MLB. The 27-year old carries a .179/.216/.309 slash in 218 plate appearances. Socrates Brito had a decent outing last time out with the Toronto Blue Jays, slashing a .282/.328/.510 batting line in 428 appearances. Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington is familiar with Socrates Brito, having come over from Toronto himself.

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MLB: What do Phillip Evans and Del Pozo bring to the table for the Pittsburgh Pirates?

Miguel Del Pozo made his debut in the MLB last year with the Los Angeles Angels after a mid-season claim from the Texas Rangers. He didn’t precisely stake out a firm claim to a permanent job, allowing 11 earned runs on three long balls with an 11:8 K/BB ratio in 9 1/3 frames. But the southpaw works in the mid-nineties with his heater and provided 68 strikeouts in 48 2/3 Triple-A innings. Phillip Evans touched the bigs in the last two seasons with the New York Mets but didn’t make it back in 2019 with the Chicago Cubs. He did see steady action with the Chicago organisation’s top affiliate, slashing .283/.371/.470 in 539 plate appearances — suitable for a reliable but hardly exceptional 106 wRC+ in the International League.

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MLB: Former Yankee Noesi to deliver the goods for Pittsburgh Pirates?

Hector Noesi has the maximum big-league experience, going 12-34 with a 5.51 ERA in 119 appearances with the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins, including 57 starts. The 24-year old right-handed pitcher was good in Triple-A last season, pitching for New Orleans and ranking first in the Pacific Coast League with a 3.82 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and .240 opponents’ batting average. He was second in league with 133 strikeouts and 11 wins. The Pittsburgh Pirates would hope Noesi can replicate those numbers in MLB.